Northern Vietnam Vermicelli Noodles with Grilled Pork Meatballs (Bun Cha Hanoi) — Vicky Pham (2024)

What is Bún Chả Hà Nội?

My favorite Vietnamese dish of all time is Hanoi rice vermicelli with grilled pork patties/meatballs,also known as Bún Chả.

Bún Chả is a Northern Vietnamese specialty originating from Hanoi, known for its unique combination of flavors and textures.

It is a refreshing and light dish, consisting of grilled pork patties (chả), and sometimes thinly sliced pork belly and shrimp, served with round rice vermicelli noodles (bún), pickled and fresh herbs, and a fish sauce-based sweet dipping broth to bring all the flavors and textures together.

This a popular dish that you can find in many Vietnamese restaurants that perfectly and wonderfully balances the five S’s: sweet, sour, salty, spicy and smoky.

How to Serve Bún Chả

Bún Chả is typically served deconstructively, with the rice noodles and herbs placed on a plate, and the grilled pork patties served in a small bowl with the dipping sauce.

Pickled vegetables, such as pickled daikon, carrots, and papaya, is either served in the dipping sauce or on the side. The dipping sauce is light and flavorful, and can be sipped like a broth.

How to Eat Bún Chả

The traditional way to eat Bún Chả Hà Nội is to use the meat and broth bowl as your main bowl.

1. Add some noodles to the bowl.

2. Tear your favorite vegetables and herbs into bite-sized pieces and add them to the bowl.

3. Swish everything around in the sauce/broth.

4. Enjoy with a grilled pork patty and some pickled vegetables.

5. Repeat for each bite.

Northern Vietnam Vs Southern Vietnam

Bún Chả is considered a Northern Vietnamese dish whereas Bún Thịt Nướng is its southern equivalent. They are both Vietnamese noodle dishes that feature grilled pork, fresh herbs, and a sweet chili dipping sauce. However, there are some key differences between the two dishes.

Serving style: Bún Chả is typically served deconstructively, with the rice noodles and grilled pork patties served separately. The diner construct each bite with a little bit of noodles, vegetables, herbs then dip it into the sauce with the pork patties.

Bún Thịt Nướng, on the other hand, is typically served more traditionally, with everything together in a bowl, except for the sauce. The dish comes with the dipping sauce (nước chấm) on the side. When ready to eat, drizzle the sauce over the noodles. Toss everything together to coat then enjoy.

Dipping sauce: The dipping sauce for Bún Chả Hà Nội is typically sweeter and lighter than the dipping sauce for Bún Thịt Nướng. Because of the lightness of the sauce and how the pork patties sit in the sauce, the sauce is often referred to as broth.

Pickled vegetables: Bún Chả Hà Nội typically uses pickled papaya. Whereas Bún Thịt Nướng typically usespickled daikon and carrot.

Pork: The pork used in Bún Chả Hà Nội is typically ground pork made into patties, while the pork used in Bún Thịt Nướng is typically thinly sliced pork shoulder/butt.

What You Will Need

To make Bún Chả, you will need:

Fatty ground pork — The main ingredient in Bún Chả is ground pork. It is used to make the pork patties, which are grilled and served with the dish. For the best result, use fatty ground pork that has at least 20% fat. The fat will help to keep the patties moist and flavorful. If you don’t like to use pork, you can use other ground meat such as chicken.

Fish sauce and oyster sauce — Fish sauce and oyster sauce are the main seasoning ingredients. It is a salty, umami-rich condiment that is used in many Southeast Asian dishes.

Brown sugar — Brown sugar is used to add sweetness. The molasses in brown sugar also helps to caramelize and char the pork patties and provide a sweet sticky glaze when grilled.

Ground black pepper — Ground black pepper provides a peppery flavor.

Roasted rice powder — Roasted rice powder provides a toasty flavor to the pork patties. It also binds the patties together.

MSG (optional) — MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a flavor enhancer. It’s awesome, delicious and perfectly safe to consume, but feel free to leave out if you wish.

Lemongrass, garlic, and shallots — Our Southeast Asian aromatics that make everything smell wonderful.

Neutral oil — A little is needed to oil our hands to make the pork patties and prevent stickiness. I’m using vegetable oil, but you can also use canola, corn, sunflower, peanut, and avocado oil.

Dipping sauce/broth — This is a mild sweet and savory sauce/broth made water, lemon juice, chili peppers and coconut juice/soda.

Fresh vegetables — lettuce, cucumber and assorted Vietnamese herbs.

Pickled vegetables — Pickled vegetables add a refreshing crunch to the dish. Traditionally pickled papaya are used but you can substitute with kohlrabi, or green unripe mango. You can also use pickled daikon or carrot (Đồ Chua).

Round rice noodles — Rice noodles are the main carb in Bún Chả. You want medium-size round rice noodles, which typically aren’t labeled medium unfortunately. If the package isn’t labeled thick, extra thick, bean thread or fine, you can safely assume they are medium-size noodles. My favorite medium-size round rice noodles is this brand.

How to Make It

Step 1: Season the pork

In a large mixing bowl, combine ground pork, fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, ground black pepper, roasted rice powder, MSG, lemongrass, garlic, and shallots.

Step 2: Make patties and grill

To prevent the ground pork mixture from sticking to your hands, oil them with vegetable oil. Roll the mixture into 32 small patties. Grill the patties over charcoal fire for a more authentic taste, about 8 minutes per side or until lightly charred.

I'm using a metal wire grilling basket, which is a common sight in Vietnam when grilling over charcoal. It's not essential if you have a grill, but it can be a helpful tool for smaller foods that can fall through the grill grates. It also produces beautiful, thin grill marks and makes it easy to flip food in one go.

You can also pan-fry the patties on high heat on the stovetop or air-fry them at 350°F, about 5 minutes per side.

Step 3: Make the quick pickled papaya

In a medium bowl, combine sliced papaya and salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse the salted papaya under cold running water and squeeze out excess water. Drain. Mix with water sugar and vinegar. Set aside.

Step 4: Make the dipping sauce/broth

In a large bowl, mix together water and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved. Add fish sauce, lime juice, coconut soda, garlic, and chili peppers.

Step 5: Cook the noodles per package instructions

Step 6: Assemble

For each serving, add pork patties to a small bowl and cover with sweet papaya chili sauce. Serve with rice noodles and a platter of vegetables and herbs on the side.

Step 7: Enjoy

Tear lettuce leaves and your favorite herbs into the bowl. Add a bit of noodles and swish to coat with the sauce. Enjoy with the pork patties, pickled papaya, and sauce. Repeat for each bite.

FAQs

I can’t find roasted rice powder. Can I make my own?

Yes you can. Wash and rinse your favorite rice grains as if you are making steamed rice. Transfer the rice grains to a dry skillet. Toast on medium-high heat, constantly tossing to brown the rice grains on all sides. Transfer the toasted rice grains to a mortar and pestle or food processor then grind them into a fine powder.

I don’t have rice grains to make roasted rice powder either.

No problem. Leave it out. It’s not too essential to the recipe and will still tastes very good without.

Can I air fry the patties?

Yes, you can. To do this, preheat your air fryer to 350°F. Place the patties in the air fryer basket, leaving some space between them. Air fry for 5 minutes per side, or until lightly charred.

How can I make the patties/meatballs more bouncy and springy to resemble the restaurant texture?

This is entirely optional but to make the patties more bouncy and springy, like the texture of Vietnamese sausage (Nem Nướng), you can beat the pork mixture into a paste. This will help to develop the myosin protein in the meat, which gives the patties their elasticity.

You can use a food processor to mix the pork mixture with a cup of ice cubes. The ice prevents the mixture from cooking during processing as the machine will get hot. Be careful not to overmix the mixture, or the patties will become light in color and lose their beautiful caramelized color when cooked. You can offset the loss of color with a bit of thick or dark soy sauce in the marinade.

Alternatively, you can go the traditional route and beat the pork mixture by hand. I like to throw the pork mixture against the bottom of the mixing bowl repeatedly. However, this is really time-consuming and tiring.

Side note: You can buy pork paste at the store rather than making your own. It is called Giò Sống. It’s typically located in the freezer aisle of many Vietnamese grocery stores. Buuuut, and it’s a big but. It’s already seasoned so you won’t be able to use it for this recipe or you will have to adjust the seasonings.

Related Posts

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy these other famous Northern Vietnamese dishes and drinks:

Hanoi Fried Fish with Turmeric and Dill (Chả Cá Lã Vọng)
Vietnamese Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng)
Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup with Wok-Seared Steak and Fried Garlic (Phở Tái Lăn)
Hanoi Noodle Soup with Ham, Chicken and Shrimp (Bún Thang)

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